EPA Advisers Offer Mixed Review of ‘Secret Science’ Proposal

The EPA’s board of scientific advisers delivered a mixed assessment of a hotly contested proposed rule that has divided opinions on the panel.

The EPA’s April 2018 proposal would bar the agency from using scientific research that isn’t or can’t be made public.

Public interest groups and congressional Democrats have labeled the proposal a bid to sideline the science the EPA uses in regulations, because the agency wouldn’t be able to rely on epidemiological studies, which often draw on private medical information.

In a letter dated April 24 and made public on Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board ...